$250,000 gift they didn't want

The launching of a mayoral appeal for an art centre in Sydney's outer western suburbs this week will be seen by many as the end of a long battle for recognition of the late Margo and Gerald Lewers, both well known artists, who lived at Emu Plains, For more than two years the artists' family has tried to donate the Lewers property and art collection worth an estimated $250,000 to Penrith for a memorial gallery. For more than two years arguments over costs have made Penrith Council loath to accept the gift. The centre will comprise two galleries, a a memorial to the Lewers, and the other a regional art gallery. It will be the area's first public gallery. Susannah Short reports further. Photograph included.

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